Evaluation of vascular photobiomodulation for orofacial pain and tension type headache following COVID 19 in a pragmatic randomized clinical trial.

This pragmatic double-blind randomized clinical trial aims to assess the impact of vascular photobiomodulation on post-COVID-19 patients experiencing tension-type headache, orofacial pain, or both persisting for more than 3 months. Participants were divided into two groups: vascular photobiomodulation (VPBM) and simulated VPBM. Their conditions were evaluated using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Visual Analogue Scale, and Headache Impact Test (HIT-6).

Differential diagnosis and comparison of diagnostic algorithms in children and adolescents with autoimmune encephalitis in Spain: a prospective cohort study and retrospective analysis.

Background: The usefulness of current diagnostic approaches in children with suspected autoimmune encephalitis is unknown. We aimed to assess the diagnosis of autoimmune encephalitis in clinical practice and to compare the performance of two international diagnostic algorithms (one intended for patients of any age [general], the other intended for paediatric patients), with particular emphasis on the evaluation of patients with probable antibody-negative autoimmune encephalitis because this diagnosis suggests that immunotherapy should be continued or escalated but is difficult to establish.

Methods: We did a prospective cohort study that included all patients (<18 years of age) with suspected autoimmune encephalitis recruited at 40 hospitals in Spain whose physicians provided clinical information every 6 months for 2 years or more.

Borrowing regulatory capacity in middle-income countries during public health crises: Brazil, regulatory reliance, and the politics of COVD-19 vaccine regulation.

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the critical role of states' regulatory capacities. Countries had to authorize novel vaccine technologies in the context of scientific uncertainty and political pressure, issues particularly acute in middle-income countries (MICs) less familiar with the procedures needed to streamline regulatory processes during a crisis. How did regulatory agencies in countries still building their regulatory capacities expedite the authorization of new COVID-19 vaccines to combat the pandemic? How did they navigate political pressures to expedite vaccine approval while maintaining safety and efficacy standards? We explore these questions through the case of Brazil, which has one of Latin America's most highly-regarded regulatory authorities, but was subject to acute political conflicts.